Rajnath Singh: Home Minister

A teacher by profession, Rajnath Singh started his political career early. At 24, he was appointed district president of Jana Sangh in 1975. He was elected Mirzapur MLA in 1977. However, Singh who had long-term ties with the RSS was handpicked to serve the party. In 1984, he became the state president of the youth wing. In 1988, he finally rose to the position of National President of the BJP youth wing and was also elected into the Uttar Pradesh legislative council.

In the 1990s, he had a successful career in the state politics. In 1991, he became the Education Minister in the Kalyan Singh-led BJP government.In 1999, he became the Union Cabinet Minister for Surface Transport. In the Vajpayee-led NDA Government, Singh took the job of Minister of Agriculture and was faced with the difficult task of maintaining one of the most volatile areas of India's economy.

He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh between 2000 and 2002. After then BJP chief LK Advani had to resign over his controversial Jinnah comment, Rajnath Singh took over as the party chief between 2005 and 2009. In January 2013, following the resignation of Nitin Gadkari due to corruption charges, Rajnath Singh was re-elected as the BJP's National President.

He played a key role in Modi's elevation as the party's PM nominee and is seen as his right-hand man. In 2014, Singh won the Lok Sabha elections from Lucknow, a seat long represented in the Lok Sabha by former PM Vajpayee.